In addition to his on-court talents, the Nets are hoping Michael Porter Jr. can provide an example of how to win at the highest level, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Porter, who was recently acquired in a trade with the Nuggets, is the only player on Brooklyn’s roster with a championship ring, winning it with Denver in 2023.
“He’s excited to be here. I’m excited to reunite with him,” said head coach Jori Fernandez, who previously worked with Porter as a Nuggets assistant. “We have history together. I loved my time with Michael. And I know he’s going to bring a lot. His work ethic is very good. He’s a pro, works really hard, so that’s going to be good for the young guys to see a guy like him that won a championship, and why.”
As a 6’10” jump shooter, Porter can handle either forward position, but the question of where he’ll play most often hasn’t been decided yet. Fernández envisions a “positionless” approach outside of his center and said it’s really not important who Porter is on the court with. He also addressed the need for Porter to establish his own identity now that he’s no longer playing alongside Nikola Jokic.
“I don’t want him to be out of character. I just want him to be himself,” Fernández added. “And that’s why I’m very comfortable, because I’ve seen him get where he got, his career year and how he scores the ball and the work he puts in every day. The only thing we need to do is get him adjusted to his new teammates … but I know who he is and how good he is going to be. And I want him to lead being Michael Porter. He doesn’t need to be anybody else.”
There’s more on the Nets:
- Egor Demin views himself as more of a “play-maker” than a point guard, Lewis states in a separate story. During the Summer League opener, the No. 8 pick in this year’s draft shared the backcourt with fellow first-rounder Nolan Traore, who fits the traditional point guard mold better than the 6’9″ Demin. “It’s one ball, and we can’t both be on it,” Demin said. “We can alternate, we can switch. And for me, obviously I can make this role look like a point guard, too, if I get the rebound and I just push it. It’s just about the game plan and looking for something we can accomplish with this combination. … How can I be playing different roles, doing whatever it takes to be efficient, being able to adjust myself and my game?”
- Rookie center Danny Wolf blamed first-game nerves for his bad stat line Thursday against Oklahoma City, Lewis adds in another piece. Wolf finished with four points while missing all five of his shots from the field, and despite his proven passing skills he wound up with two assists and four turnovers. “It’s my first experience in the NBA, and obviously it’s Summer League, but it’s different,” Wolf said. “Definitely some jitters and again, just got to put this in the rear-view and learn from it. Just get better from this.”
- Ben Saraf also made his Summer League debut on Thursday as the Nets followed through with their draft strategy of having several ball-handlers on the court at the same time, observes C.J. Holmes of The New York Daily News. “This is the way our roster is constructed,” Summer League head coach Steve Hetzel said. “The league is now multiple ball-handlers, multiple attackers. If you look at the team that just won the championship, they’ve got Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who can both put the ball in the paint. We feel like the more people that we can have attacking and making plays, the better we are.” Drake Powell, Brooklyn’s other first-round pick, is sitting out Summer League as a precaution after hurting his knee during the pre-draft process.
I’m tracking that they still have $ they need to spend. While they could flip someone like Jalen Wilson or Tyrese Martin for someone on a bigger expiring deal like Marcus Smart or Gabe Vincent, I have to believe they want a pick for doing so and to this point they must be striking out on that effort.
The other option is to sign someone like Brogdon who they could later flip for assets.
Either way, they cannot be done.
They should do something if its there to be done, but they really don’t need to do anything. Right now their cap allocations are about 7 mm above the spending floor. They have guaranteed salary for 12 guys at a collective 125 mm, another 4 non or partial guranteed deals (8.5 mm) and Thomas’ cap hold (12.5 mm). The floor is only 139 mm.
Nothing wrong with maintaining 10-15 mm in cap space into the season. Might even be smart, assuming nothing good comes along.
I thought that re-signing Thomas was not going to count toward their cap.
The roster hold (12.5 mm) counts against the cap for any free agent until the guy is either signed (then the salary counts) or signs elsewhere, unmatched (then he comes off).
I think they’re at $125M counting the 2 pending extensions (Ziaire and Dayron) and the non-g’teed deals. Then they’re showing $20M in cap holds, which includes $6M for Milutinov and another $2M for Beekman, whose rights they must’ve renounced. So I guess if they’re going to retain Milutinov’s rights, they’ll be above the minimum.
C Thomas is the only experienced guard they have. And he’s a gunner. Not really who I want as my lead guard. Brogdon makes a lot of sense here.
Not a big Porter fan. His stats are decent. And I agree with article. That this is his chance to show out.
I just don’t see how you play 19 yr olds. Very few in history can come in and play mins. Nets would have to play a few. Wolf as a 22yr old rookie. Has a chance to get major mins. I don’t think NY fans are going to support rebuilding for years. Its why Knicks have never done it. I’m surprised Nets didn’t go after Anthony. Although I think he is in a good place. Not sure about Nets lols.
Al, the times may be a changing. To date, New York teams have at times engaged in rebuilding, but what they haven’t done is Tank. It appears, however, that BKN is about to take the plunge this year. I can’t blame them. OKC just won a championship with a team that was built principally on Tanking. SAS is maybe a year away from having an equal or better roster, and one was exclusively built on Tanking. HOU, DET, etc. All struggling teams, in every sport, have to watch, and at least think about emulating, the teams that are then winning, particularly when they’ve built their rosters in a manner that’s generally available.
From BKN’s perspective, perhaps they can’t care about Tanking being bad for the sport. Maybe their focus has to be that they can’t go through another season with one of the worst rosters in the sport and pick #8 in the draft again?
NYK-? Tanking is off the table right now, but it can’t any longer be put in the unthinkable category.